All Things New York Mets

Thursday, January 29, 2015

First off my apologies for all the extra black space around the photos as I was using my phone for this post. And now back to our topic at hand.

While I was perusing eBay for Mike Piazza autos I came across a few cards that I saw and kindof scratched my head.

Someone made a mistake and put the wrong auto sticker on the card.

First up was this auto. At first glance it's a beautiful card and tiny patch numbered to 25. Plus it's signed by Mike Piazza, but wait that's not Mike Piazzas signature or is it.

Next up is this auto. Same exact card different auto. How can that be. Well it turns out their is another Mike Piazza who is a pitcher that is with the Angels minor league system and has never advanced higher than AA since 2009 and that's his auto above. The beloved and one of the the greatest hitting catchers Mike Piazza auto is below with the other Mike Piazza beneath.

Friday, January 23, 2015

I updated the link for my set needs for 2013 Gypsy Queen and Triple Threads Amethyst. You can checkout what I need here. I'm probably going to jump on eBay or COMC and bang out the Triple Threads sometime in the next week. I think there is about 46 cards that I need to complete the Gypsy Queen set.

Well my new pick up was another Mets auto from 2014 Topps High Tek. The card I picked up was a Zack Wheeler base auto for under $6.00. I was kind of amazed at how cheap it was being the product has only been out about a month. I may try to chase the diffractor/refractor autos of the same card. Hopefully Mr. Wheeler can improve upon a decent season last year.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Just a few days ago I saw Suzys post from A Cardboard Problem for the 2014 BIP Awards and clicked on the link to see what it was all about. As I scrolled down I came across different categories that she had setup to vote on. The list included nominations for best Blog, rookie of the year, industry news source, most generous blogger, best non-baseball blog, best non-sports blog, best recurring subject, best Twitter feed, and best Instagram feed.

I was shocked to see my blog nominated for Rookie of The Year Blog. A BIG THANK YOU to whoever nominated my blog for the award. I encourage all of you to check out that post an vote. I'm not as active as I would like on the blog nor am I as in depth and as detailed I would like unlike some of the other blogs in the blogosphere.

I started the blog back in the end of March just as I was getting back into the hobby and figured it be a good way to meet other people. My buddy Matt from Bob Walk the Plank kind of nudge me to start the blog being he started his a few months earlier. At the same time I along with Matt from and our buddy Micah started busting a box of cards about once a month. It's been great to get together like that an talk sports an have some beer too. That's another thing that I enjoy is good craft beer, but thats not what this blog is about.

I was surprised not seeing Matts Bob Walk the Plank nominated for any categories. I believe he should be in the ROY category as well and would probably have easily walked away with the win. He probably could also fit in the generous blogger category as well.

Well here's to spring training which starts backup in just over a month and probably just about a month away from pitcher an catchers reporting.

Hopefully this year allows me to trade more and post more too along with add to my collection.

Monday, January 19, 2015

This morning I received an MLB email with some headlines. First one was NL East favorites add Schrezer so their goes another top arm to the Nationals for the Mets to deal with. Another one was how Wainwright couldn't open up kids on jars and had to have his wife do it. And there were some others but the below email promoted as staff pick their top destinations to use their timeless ticket really got me thinking.

What game would I pick. First one to pop into my head after reading the article was of course the Mets World Series game, but then I got thinking. What would it be like to see the greats of the game play like Ruth, Wagner, Cobb, Robinson, etc play the game.

So I still have yet to pick my game and thought it would be fun to see what fellow bloggers say. So leave a comment long or short on what game you would pick past or future. Go into detail if you want.

But first here is a new card added to my trade bait. A relic of Nick Markakis from UD Sweet Spot. I stumbled across this in the back of an old binder from a purchase years ago from a Walmart blaster.

This week, the Brewers revolutionized the world of baseball ticketing when they released the "Timeless Ticket" offer for fans. Basically, for $1,000, Brewers fans can purchase a ticket to nine games in 2015 (including Opening Day) and one to a Game to Be Named Later. Any game. Opening Day 2016, future All-Star Games, Game 7 of the World Series. Everything is fair game.

That got us (the Cut4 staff) thinking about how we'd use that GTBNL ticket. And, more importantly, how we'd use that ticket if we could hop anywhere on the space-time continuum.

1. You can go to any game -- past or future -- but attending would not alter the outcome of the game (i.e. You can't use your ticket to take Steve Bartman's seat at Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS).

2. You can use your total knowledge when deciding which past games to attend. Basically, you'd rather go back to see Game 6 of the 1975 World Series because the game was incredible, even though you wouldn't have been privy to that information when actually choosing to cash your ticket in for the game in '75.

3. You can't pick your specific seat. So no garbage like picking the seat of the fan who hauled in an incredibly valuable souvenir ball. (No, you can't just pick a different seat and walk to the one where the ball landed. Don't make this more complicated than it is.)

Now, get your DeLoreans up to 88 mph and cash those puppies in.

Here are the picks from the staff.

Mike Bertha - Game 3, 1932 World Series - The '32 Series featured the Cubs, a 107-win Yankees club and a record 13 future Hall of Famers, including the Yankees' Game 3 starter Lefty Gomez. It was Babe Ruth's last Fall Classic and the first ever in which players wore numbers on the backs of their jerseys. Ruth and Gehrig put more than a dozen balls into the then-temporary bleachers at Wrigley Field during BP before the game. In the actual game, Ruth homered in the top of the first and then he and Gehrig went back-to-back in the fifth. The Yankees won 5-2 en route to a four-game sweep.

Oh, and Babe Ruth might have called his shot on that homer in the fifth.

Michael Clair - Game 1, 1903 World Series - I would head to Game 1 of the 1903 World Series -- the first one ever held. I want to see Honus Wagner in his prime, coming off a season in which he hit .355 with 19 triples. I want to see a not-quite-in-his-prime Cy Young, but still a pitcher who won a league-high 28 games with an also league-high 341 2/3 innings. I want to see just how loudly the Boston rooters chanted "Tessie," instead of the modern, please-don't-make-me-ever-hear-it-again "Tessie" by The Dropkick Murphys. I want to be there for history being made.

And, if possible, I would like to strap a Go Pro to my head so that we can watch this game in sparkling HD forever

Benjamin Cosman - April 2115 - I want to see the first MLB game played between teams composed entirely of robots. I'm not entirely sure how this will come to be -- if sentient robots form their own league that eventually merges with MLB, or if MLB teams slowly begin drafting robots, or if it starts with cyborgs and then slowly trickles down until robots have replaced every human player -- but I am confident that sometime in the next century, there will be at least two professional robot baseball teams.

And I want to see them play. Because let's be honest, humans are great and all, but our bodies age and decompose and are all-too susceptible to injury. Robots are eternal. I want to see a robot baseball game that never ends. I imagine it will be the San Francisco Iron Giants versus the Houston Astrobots and I imagine it will go something like this:

Dakota Gardner - Game 6, 1975 World Series - That game had it all: an iconic location, absurdly high stakes, lots of offense, and one of baseball's most memorable and lasting finales.

With the Reds on the brink of winning the 1975 World Series, Game 6 at Fenway Park was a must-win game for the Red Sox. And, to that effect, it started out well -- Fred Lynn clocked a three-run homer off Gary Nolan in the first inning, giving Boston an early lead. But then, in the fifth inning, Sox starter Luis Tiant gave three runs back, kickstarting the back-and-forth finale. With the game tied going into the bottom of the 12th, Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk stepped to the plate and launched a deep fly ball off the left-field foul pole atop the Green Monster, waving it fair the whole time. If aliens landed on Earth, and we were forced to explain exactly what makes baseball so magical, this game would be the perfect place to start.

Gemma Kaneko - First female MLB player - As much as I'd like to catch the 1968 Tigers, if this is a truly timeless ticket, I'm headed to the future. Reserve me a seat at the first Major League game featuring a female player. It might not happen for decades, or maybe Mo'ne Davis will be starting for the Phillies in 2027. But as long as Jennie Finch is striking out the likes of Albert Pujols, I'm confident the day will come.

Matthew Monagan - "Game 162" Rays vs. Yankees, 2011 - Sure, I could've picked Bobby Thomson's game-winner, Babe's Called Shot, Mookie's roller down the line or Bartolo Colon's day of birth, but instead, I'm going to see Dan Johnson play Major League Baseball on Sept. 28, 2011. The 31-year-old first baseman who'd been out of the Majors entirely two years beforehand.

Just about a month ago Chris from over at Nachos Grande posted a group break over on his page. I decided to partake in the group break which consisted of 2 boxes of this years High Tek, a box of this years Stadium Club, a box of 2013 Panini Triple Play, and a pack of 2013 MLB Chipz. Also, included in the break was a guarantee of hit from Chris's personal stash if you went hitless and a huge pile of cards from the team or teams you picked.

I probably will not be buying any boxes of High Tek myself being there is only 8 cards per box with one auto. I will be however chasing some of the autos out of this product and have to chase one less now because of this break. I already opened a box of Stadium Club and probably will open some more if the price drops for daily specials.

Well I received my priority box Friday or Saturday and couldn't wait to receive it being I got a hit from one of the boxes opened, but more on that later. First in the box was a NY Mets pencil which instantly reminded me of my younger years of first and second grade when all the kids had themed pencils. Needless to say this pencil was swiped by my kindergartner to use for home work. I didn't get to snap a picture of it before it was swiped.

Next up was some good old 80's 90's and 2000's cards from the Mets, which probably consisted of close to 200 cards. Some of the cards I remember collecting as a kid back in the late 80's and probably still have the binders at my mom's house full of them. Time to make a mental note for the next time we visit to try an locate them an bring them back. Here are a few actually just 4 cards from the stash that Chris sent. The classic late 80's Topps of Hernandez, 90's Donrus of HoJo, a late 2000's of an UD Tom Glaveine running the bases, and a Heritage rookie card of Philip Humber who pitched a perfect game for the White Sox.

Next up are some sweet custom mini's from Chris's friend Ryan.
What a sweet mini of Kevin James really getting into it. I knew he was a Mets fan from his time on King of Queens.

Next up is none other than a sweet mini of Mr Met and Mr Harvey.

Next up is the man responsible for the break and the guy responsible of creating these unique an wonderful minis. I've seen Chris's card show up on other blogs before and now have one of my own. From the picture it looks like Ryan the creator of these cards is a Mets fan sporting the good ole throwback 80's away uni.

Now onto the Panini Triple play and Topps Stadium Club. Pretty cool to get to rookie cards from Stadium Club and a Tom Terrific. I hope to one day have an auto of Tom Terrific and quite a few lately have slipped right thru my fingers. Hopefully d'Arnaud continues where he left off after being sent down to triple A to find his swing because he came back swinging the wood pretty darn good. As for Flores he was a top prospect for the Mets who supposedly has a good bat and will be the starting SS for now.

And now onto the hit that I got from this break. No it wasn't a hit from Chris's collection. It was a hit from the second box of High Tek. The hit was a base of auto of The Captain himself David Wright.

This card is gorgeous and absolutely love the look of High Tek. Topps could have gotten a little more creative by changing up the picture on the back of the card to not being the same exact one on the front of the card. I would love to chase the autos from the Mets in this product since I already knocked one off the list and would only have two more to go. The two I would have to get would be Zack Wheeler and Mike Piazza from the base autos. I believe Wright and Piazza have insert autos as well.

Chris thanks for doing this group break and will keep an eye out for any other group breaks that you do.

About a week or so I received a PWE from Judson over at My Cardboard Habit. I had no idea what was in the envelope. Usually when I get a PWE its some base or maybe some inserts of the Mets, but not this time.

Judson has graciously sent me stuff before from when a trade didn't work out, see here. I was totally blown away by what he sent this time around. I don't actively seek these types or kinds of cards, but will happily acquire them via trades or PWEs. So without further blabbering I present to you a 2014 A&G back red mini hand numbered to 25 of Curtis Granderson.

Judson thanks again for this sweet card and hopefully if I don't pull any Mets in my box breaks I pull some Rangers that I can send your way to thank you and show my appreciation for these great cards that you sent my way. If you don't already follow Judson give the link a click and follow him. He collects Ranger cards and may currently be hit or miss in the blogosphere as of the moment.

Friday, January 16, 2015

A few weeks back I got a PWE from Dennis over at Too Many Verlanders thanking me for trading with him this past year.

Well inside the envelope was this beauty of former WVU RB Steve Slaton. After having a tremendous rookie year with the Texans and rushing for close too 1300 yards he caught fumbilitis and became injury prone the rest of his shirt career in the NFL. Wish he could've stayed healthy an built upon a fine rookie campaign. I believe now he is with the CFL playing for the Argonauts.

Thanks for the card Dennis and I'll be sure to send any Tigers or Wolverines your way and look forward to our next swap/trade.

A while back I opened a box of '12 archives and ended up pulling a
Bob Boone auto which I sent over to Phillies collector Brad at Brads Blog. I ended sending some other cards along too which escape my memory as of the moment.

A few weeks back I ended up receiving a package from Brad that included the following cards.

Here's a nice Heritage of soon to be Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez.

Next
up is some early 90s cards. I remember my buddy would search the 91
Fleer by pressing on the side of the wrapper an fanning the cards some
to see if they had a insert /hit in it. They were nothing big, I think a
sketch portrait print if memory serves correctly. Good ole Bobby
Bonilla another bad deal for the Mets who is still on their payroll I
believe and had the largest contract at that time. Must be nice to still
bring in a paycheck without working.

Next
up is an auto of Michael Fulmer who was drafted in the first round by
the Mets in the 2011 amateur draft and is currently a top 20 prospect in
the mets system. He lost time in 2013 due to a torn meniscus and is
currently in AA with Binghamton. After doing a little more research
found out he played HS ball with Dylan Bundy. The last line off the
overview I read said he doesn't have Bundys upside but has what it takes
to be a big league starter. We all know how pitchers pan out so time
will tell plus the Mets rotation and future call ups look pretty bright
in the very near future.

Final
card I received is a Kirk Nieuwenhuis auto from Chrome. Kirk is the odd
the man out as an outfielder in the Mets system. He is probably the 5th
outfielder with the Mets signing Mayberry Jr this offseason. Kirk was
called up an sent down 4 or 5 different times last year due to injuries
from the starters and has been with the Mets organization since 2008 I
believe. He played football for a short while at the University of
Colorado as a RB before giving it up when he realized the guy standing
next to him was 6-2 200lbs as a kicker an thought to himself what was he
getting into. The kicker he was referring to was Mason Crosby of the
Green Bay Packers.

Thanks
Brad for return package and look forward to our future swaps. I have
picked up a few cards on eBay and will show those off once they arrive
and I was lucky enough to get a hit in Nachos Grande
last group break which I will show off once it arrives too. Hopefully I
can start posting and acquiring more cards in the near future.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

A few weeks ago I busted a box of this stuff with Matt from over at BOB WALKand our other buddy Micah. I was kinda wondering what the box would bring being the ones I've seen posted on blogs haven't been too good on the hits. I thoroughly enjoy stadium club for the excellent pictures.

Well let's get to what was inside the box shall we. I ended up getting a David Wright luminescent die cut and a luminous die cut of McCutchen and Tanaka. So 3 die cuts in one box of stadium club so good so far.

The first auto I pulled was a Phillies auto of Mario Hollands. At least I can make out the first initial of M of his auto. Never heard of the guy and thought to myself typical Stadium Club box break comin up or was it.

Second auto I pulled I actually heard of the guy and have an auto of his already from a prior trade. The player is rookie Kolten Wong of the Cardinals. This auto isn't any better than Marios other than I can see the resemblance of a W for his last name. So this box has taken a turn for the better and started uphill looking towards a promising box depending on the third auto.

The third and final auto I pulled was actually a redemption of the late Oscar Taveras. I actually received the card just the other day and with a letter from Topps that left me scratching my head, but more on that in another post. Without further ado here is the the card. I can actually make out his first and last initial.

After all was said an done this was probably one of the better boxes I saw opened. All of the autos are for trade I just haven't had the chance to put them on my trade bait link.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and got what they wanted along with some cards or memorabilia.

I am behind, strike that way behind, actually strike that too....I am way way way behind on posts and breaks and updates.

If my oldest ever has school this week I'm hoping to get caught up on some posts, but being the past few days the temperature hasn't cracked higher than 15 degrees and with the wind chill at or below zero most of the day he hasn't had school. As I type this it is currently 11 degrees at feels like 1 degree. Needles to say trying to keep two kids entertained through out the day is a tall order and prevents me from getting some posts done and caught up.

Well a few weeks back I made a trade with Andrew over at Need More Cardboard for a redemption card for a relic of Tom Seaver and David Wright from series 2 that you can read about here. Well much to my surprise I actually received the card rather quickly about a week or so ago from Topps. I figured it would take a while being I've never seen the redemption on ebay.

So without further ado here is the card I received from Topps. Pretty sweet patch of Captain America and a nice chunk of wood from Tom Terrific. This is the first relic/auto of Mr Seaver in my collection and hopefully more to come.

I still have a few redemptions still outstanding from Topps that hopefully get filled soon.

Here's hoping in the next week or so I can post about some packages I received and the bix of stadium club that I busted a few weeks back that had two out of the three pretty good players.

I'm still deciding on a wallet card and will definitely select one after I go back through a package I got of some 80s and 90s Mets.